Unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section. Each reference cited herein is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
Various types of devices for inhibiting or disabling a vehicle are known, and have been used for example by vehicle owners as anti-theft devices or by law enforcement personnel to prevent a vehicle from fleeing or otherwise being moved. In the case of law enforcement, wheel locks, spike strips, projectiles, physical barriers and other devices and methods are used to prevent a chase or disable a moving vehicle. Once a chase begins, however, the use of devices such as spike strips or road blocks can result in serious harm to officers or bystanders and/or damage to property. Therefore, devices and methods for effectively disabling operation of a vehicle before a chase ensues are desired.
One method of disabling a vehicle with an internal combustion engine is to block the engine exhaust, which causes exhaust pressure to build up and inhibits the intake of air needed for the engine to start and/or continue to run. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,683,735 to Magrobi discloses a lockable cap adapted to fit over a modified exhaust pipe. U.S. Pat. No. 5,249,422 to Wright discloses another exhaust pipe lock utilizing a plug that is inserted into the end of an exhaust pipe and a pin or other locking key that is fitted laterally through the pipe and the plug to secure the plug. Both of these devices are clearly visible from the end of the vehicle and require modification of the tailpipe in order to secure the plug or cap to the tailpipe. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,839,081 to Joao and U.S. Pat. No. 5,917,406 to Postel disclose devices that require modifications to a vehicle's exhaust system to fit an electronically controlled flow inhibitor within the system.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,451,851 to Wax discloses both (i) an exhaust plug that is manually inserted using an extension handle that extends from the tailpipe, where the plug material expands upon heating and is adhesive to the exhaust pipe, and (ii) a method of disabling a vehicle by blocking the vehicle's tailpipe with a length of adhesive material attached to the front bumper of a police vehicle. Both of these methods have disadvantages, including the likelihood that the plug or adhesive may be dislodged or ejected from the tailpipe by pressure within the exhaust system, the potential to damage the tailpipe of the vehicle (e.g., by adhesive material fusing to the exhaust pipe or vehicle, or physical damage to the vehicle caused by impact of the bumper of the pursuing vehicle), and that the devices are clearly visible from the rear of the potentially “disabled” vehicle and therefore may be easily removed before starting the vehicle. Also, these and other systems may be potentially dangerous to remove from a vehicle if pressure has built up within the exhaust system.
Thus, there remains a need for devices and methods for safely and effectively disabling a vehicle without easy detection and without modifying or damaging the vehicle exhaust system.